Eaton sells SA towers to ATC

Eaton Towers has sold its base station tower portfolio in South Africa to rival American Tower Corp (ATC).

Eaton said on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement to sell about 300 towers it built locally to ATC South Africa.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed. The transaction is subject to approval by regulators.

“The successful execution of our build-to-suit strategy over the last few years has resulted in a unique portfolio of some 300 towers serving some 600 tenants across South Africa,” said Eaton Towers CEO Terry Rhodes in a statement.

“The sale, which represents about 5% of Eaton Towers’ total business, will allow us to invest further in the countries where we are market leaders and expand into new markets in Africa,” Rhodes said.

He added that the South African market consists of about 30 000 towers and is still dominated by telecoms and broadcast companies, who own over 90% of them.

In many parts of Africa, cellular network operators have sold their tower infrastructure to independent third parties who manage it on their behalf. In South Africa, only Cell C has sold its tower portfolio — to ATC. — (c) 2016 NewsCentral Media